1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for deep-frying a food product, and in particular, to an improved method and apparatus for deep-frying corn masa chips commonly known as tortilla chips or nacho chips.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various food products are deep-fried to make the product crispy. In addition, deep-frying adds flavor to the product. Tortilla chips are formed by cutting thin sheets of corn masa into generally triangular pieces and deep-frying these pieces to form crisp tortilla chips. Commonly, these pieces are manually moved during the deep-frying by a whisk. This procedure, however, does not consistently provide tortilla chips of uniform quality. Some chips may not be completely fried and many often fail to achieve the desired appearance. A substantial number of chips must be discarded in order to provide the restaurant patrons with properly cooked chips having the appropriate appearance. As a result, the current technique for making freshly prepared tortilla chips results in a substantial wastage of both corn masa and labor.